Sales and Marketing CAN get along. In fact, they can be an unstoppable tag-team. We recently sat down with two Sales and Marketing experts and asked them for their perspectives.
Joe Cullinane is an executive coach, adviser and consultant who works with business leaders and entrepreneurs to help them achieve their business-to-business sales goals. He is an accomplished sales professional and is the author and publisher of 21st Century Selling.
Representing the Marketing perspective is our own John Fox, president of Venture Marketing. John’s background includes many marketing achievements, all centered on building a customer base from scratch.
Both Joe and John provided us with concrete advice on ways to improve the often-strained relationship between Sales and Marketing departments. Specifically, they showed us a clear path for CEO’s and business owners to follow—Seven Steps to Bridging the Divide between Sales and Marketing.
Venture Marketing (VM): What are your general thoughts regarding the conflicts between Sales and Marketing in corporate America?
Joe Cullinane (JC): I’ve been both a VP of Marketing and a VP of Sales. Generally, Sales people are very resourceful. They’re in the field, dealing with customers and they’ll use marketing tools if they believe they’re useful. Marketing people often have a better feel for the message that top management is trying to convey. Their concern is that each salesperson delivers the proper corporate message. Often, neither side respects the others’ position.
John Fox (JF): My experience is much the same as Joe’s. If you buy into the idea that it’s Marketing’s job to outfit (and properly “arm”) the sales force, I’ve seen two extremes. Either we Marketers give them pea-shooters or Howitzers, and usually without a lot of training in how to use either. Worse yet, they tend to be tools that haven’t been field-tested. But I believe the bigger issue is that both groups have lost touch with their business origin; which was a unified function (single person) that serviced commerce, and has since divided in order to build the enterprise and scale.
VM: How can a business owner or CEO work to resolve those conflicts?
JC: The first step is to admit there is a problem and to acknowledge the negative impact it has on your business. The CEO must take ownership and understand that change and improvement come from the top down. Simply put, the head of an organization is the best person to solve the problem.
VM: Okay, so the company’s leader has acknowledged the problem. Now what?
JC: Next, it’s time to reframe the issue—to move away from thinking of this as simply a Sales or Marketing issue. Leaders must focus and get their employees to focus on the larger picture: the reason both departments exist is to grow revenue. That’s the real mission, to concentrate on corporate growth and the ways in which members of both Sales and Marketing make their contribution.
JF: I would make it simpler: give the person in charge of both functions a new title. How about Chief Commerce Officer (CCO) or Director of Commerce? After all, commerce is what we’re driving for.
VM: But even with a new title like CCO, is that all there is to do?
JF: Not in the least. That’s just a start. The most important step is to decide which function is responsible for supporting the other. This is controversial, but I’ll tell you what 25+ years teaches you: the team that owns the customer relationship is in control. If Sales owns the customer relationship then, by God, get behind these people. If Marketing owns the relationship, Sales needs to get in line. The trouble comes from situations where employees line up behind the biggest egos or budgets and not those who are actually touching the customer. At the risk of offending my Marketing brethren, if you don’t like how that sounds, try another career or find a business where Marketing owns the relationship, like eBay, for example.
VM: How does a leader avoid common problems, such as turf wars, bruised egos and resistance to change?
JC: By tackling the third step: to create a new company story. I call this SOS: Stories—Objective—Strategy. Right now, Sales has a story about what they do and how things work. The same goes for Marketing as well as the company’s leadership. What the CEO must do is work at creating a third story—a revenue story. The revenue story incorporates all groups and acknowledges the importance of each. This is the story of how your company got to the point it’s at today and where you want to go. Your objectives are set based upon where you want to go.
JF: And it’s Marketing’s job to take the story and make it compelling. Something that prospects will react to. Something that an editor, for example, will say, “Hey, now that’s something new.”
VM: Sounds great, but how would a CEO go about creating this SOS?
JC: That’s the fourth step—holding a revenue summit. The sole purpose of the event would be to create this story—the history, the future and the strategies to get there. It’s something that should be done off-site and with the assistance of a skilled meeting facilitator who understands the purpose and objectives of the summit.
JF: The format we use is our Strategic Messaging Workplan (see: Messaging Workplan for an example). The process starts with the “Story,” as Joe suggests, and then links it to the customer’s decision-making criteria. Essentially, it’s the first road-test of the SOS.
VM: After the story is written, what comes next?
JC: At that point, there is work to be done internally. The fifth step is for the leader to ensure that everyone in the company hears the story and understands what it means. The leader sets the tone, and has the opportunity to educate the entire organization regarding the importance of both Sales and Marketing teams for the growth of the company. How one gets the message out will depend upon the company’s size. For example, the story could be launched at a company meeting or through an internal newsletter.
VM: And number six?
JC: The leader needs to take the new story and ensure that it is being properly addressed in all external communication and marketing material. The message inherent in the revenue story must be an element in the company’s marketing, publicity and promotion initiatives. At this point, Sales and Marketing people must get in sync regarding the new message and the best way to get it out. Marketing will need to provide Sales the tools to successfully deliver the new corporate message to customers. The advantage to the company is that standards and controls are in place and the advantage to the Sales Reps is that they have the right tools to use.
VM: What is the final step?
JC: The seventh step really isn’t final at all. In fact, the last step is to make a commitment to revisit this corporate story and related goals and strategies on a quarterly basis. It’s critical to ensure that the revenue story remains accurate and also to evaluate the ways in which Sales and Marketing teams are on track.
VM: Any other thoughts on this issue?
JC: Mutual respect between Sales and Marketing people may be uncommon, but it’s absolutely critical to a company’s success. When members of both teams acknowledge and understand the others’ role in a shared objective, they’re well on the way to mutually respecting one another.
JF: Joe, I completely agree with you, but I wouldn’t be so gracious. As I stated earlier, someone has to lead and someone has to follow. There’s no particular shame or glory in a certain position. Aim for Commerce, or Revenue as you say, Joe. And, don’t look back.
